I'm only about 30 pages into it so far but it seems eerily similar to some christian fundamentalist literature a neighbour loaned me once.

That & it reminds me of "The Message From the UFOs" (I think that was what it was called - I loaned it to a friend but her flatmate stole it so I haven't seen it for awhile), by Rael (yes - the French race driver cum UFO cult prophet).

As Tom Waits once said: "I never laughed at Spinal Tap. It seemed too real"

Does one really make up a religion ? People always use to wonder about it. Visit the Pantheon in Rome (Italy ) There is a masterpiece in architexture dedicated to non-descript religion.. "To all the Gods"

Rather than being the answer to all questions, maybe religion is the big question within ...

1handclapping wrote:Does one really make up a religion ? People always use to wonder about it. Visit the Pantheon in Rome (Italy ) There is a masterpiece in architexture dedicated to non-descript religion.. "To all the Gods"

Rather than being the answer to all questions, maybe religion is the big question within ...

I dont think non-descript is a good way to think of it, although that is what it has become. It was built by pre-christian Rome. They had a pantheon similar to that a of the Greeks. The statement "To all the Gods' Refers to Mars, Jupiter, Venus, etc...
During the time the Church took power they ripped the statues of the old Roman gods out and destroyed them. Sad really, if they could build something like the Pantheon just imagine how wonderful the statues must have been.

Fergus: The Pirate King of the Gold Coast

Everyone makes sacrifices, mine just happen to be to the Dark Lord of the Underworld. -Random T-Shirt

Dr. Otis Lansa wrote:[AFAIK, only humans have religions, so they're necessarily invented by human beings. Where the inspiration comes from is entirely another matter...

There's lots of research going on into our experience of spiritual ideas. See here for example. Mania and psychosis can often centre around an increase in religious ideas (those that don't believe they are Napolean). Still won't tell us where it comes from though !!!

Grand Deducer Watson of Sherlock. NoName, no pack drill. Astral zone changed five times a day (flexible). Great at manifesting parking spaces by thought control. Hatred of terminology of survivors and commitment to win-win reality.

Mero would find that article interesting. It also metions something that I've been mulling over.... if there is physiological evidence that the brain is structured to allow religious experiences, maybe those brain structures could be stimulated by a god to allow communication.

In 1998 Time magazine had a fascinating article about the "god gene." Unfortunately the article is no longer accessible except to subscribers. If you Google the phrase you'll come up with a lot of good articles concerning the subject, though none as concise as the Time article, IMO.
There has been scientific connection with perceived spirituality linked to a particular portion of the brain. When that section is stimulated a sense of mental pleasure results, likened to the state of Nirvana Buddhist monks experience. It is the same section of the brain that is stimulated when a person is say, surrounded by a crowd of like minded people, such as at a rock concert, political rally, or Sunday revival.
It all makes sense to me.

-----(\ /)------
-----(o.o)-----
----(> <)-----
This is Bunny.
Bunny, as cute and cuddley as he may appear, is bent on world domination.
To achieve this he has decided to start by taking over teh intarweb, a step towards his ultimate goal.
To help him complete his quest and therefore ensure bunny domination, copy and paste him into your sig